CHRIS STOKES’ FOOTAGE FILMS
TO PREMIERE SERIES “HOWARD HIGH”
ON THE NEW STREAMING SERVICE
URBANFLIX TV
Brian White, Marques Houston, And Chrissy Stokes Lead The Cast
Producer Chris Stokes’ (You Got Served) will be premiering his new forty-minute, musical drama series, “Howard High” on the new streaming service, UrbanFlix TV (Urbanflix TV) on Friday, May 1st. The show follows ‘Frank King,’ played by Brian White, (“Ray Donovan”/ ”Scandal”) a former honor roll student of the high school who is asked to come back and take a principal position at the school, not knowing that the school is on the verge of closing down because it has become the lowest-ranked school in the state. Frank also doesn’t realize that the only reason ‘Superintendent Thomas,’ played by Dorien Wilson, (“The Parkers”) offered him the position was so he could position him to take the fall and blame him for the school’s decline. To Frank’s surprise, there is major talent right under his nose within the performing arts music program. After firing the music teacher, and with the help of his friend and new music teacher ‘Michael Kirsh,’ played by singer Marques Houston, (You Got Served), Frank and his team just may be able to save the school! The show is also introducing newcomer, Chrissy Stokes, in the lead role of ‘Nicki Ross,’ a beautiful moody teenager who’s just moved to Los Angeles from Arizona, where she got into some trouble. She’s a bit shy, and in no rush to reveal the incredible singing talent that she has. To round out the cast, Stokes’ has assembled some of the hottest singers and dancers in Hollywood which include, Jarell “J-Boog” Houston, V Bozeman, Anthony Lewis, Hannah Malone, Lindsay Davis, Earanequa Carter, Dustin Michael, Mila J, Ross Fleming, Ray Ray and Deonte Jackson. The show is written and directed by Chris Stokes who also serves as executive producer alongside Louis Arriola and Bart Malone. Brian White, Marques Houston, Jerome Jones, Shondrella Avery and J Owen serve as producers.
Howard High Trailer is HERE.
Stated Stokes. “I’ve always had an affinity for musically driven projects.” “I consider this the television series/musical version of You Got Served. In my era, there was a popular show called “Fame” that was loosely based on The Juilliard School in New York City. Being a big fan of that show and coming from the music/dance background that I come from, I felt that this generation needed their “Fame” …. Obviously with a bit of a twist. In that, I created “Howard High” and made it a point to not only highlight the talent that comes from Urban neighborhoods, but also the challenges that the people and the infrastructure of these areas face. I think that “Howard High” will shed light on these challenges while giving viewers an entertaining, wholesome and fun-loving experience while watching.”
About Chris Stokes:
Entrepreneur, director, writer, producer, Christopher B. Stokes made a name for himself in the music industry with the discovery of such stars as Brandy, Immature, B2K, Jhene Aiko, Sevyn Streeter, Mila J, Kevin McHale (Glee), Omarion & Marques Houston. A Los Angeles native, Stokes has been immersed in the music business since the age of seventeen. Known for his ingenuity behind chart-topping success stories such as multi-platinum selling groups “B2K” and “Immature” and solo artists “Omarion” (former lead singer of “B2K”) and Marques “MH” Houston (former lead singer of “Immature”/”IMX”). In 2003, Stokes made his feature writing/directing debut with the super successful You Got Served. That film surprised Hollywood, opening at #1 and continued to dominate even in its second weekend. You Got Served went on to gross more than $150 million worldwide in box office and DVD combined. Other film credits include Somebody Help Me (2007), Somebody Help Me 2 (2010), Battlefield America (2012), In 2015 Stokes set his eyes on entering into the world of television and launched his film and television production company, Footage Films. His TV credits include “We Belong Together” (2018), “Running Out of Time” (2018), “Fall Girls” (2019), Sacrifice (2019), “Howard High” (2020).
About Footage Films (Footage Films):
Footage Films Was Founded In 2015 With the Intention To Pursue Stories Objectively, Executing The Highest Possible Standards Artistically, Creatively And Technically; To Entertain Viewers; And Tell Diverse Stories. Its Mission Is To Deliver High Quality, Multi-Cultural, Fiction/Non-Fiction Programming And Production For Digital Audio/Visual Media, Theatrical And Broadcast Television Through All Platforms.
About Brian White:
Daytime Emmy-nominated actor, producer, and writer Brian White was recently named president of the ON! Channel a premier streaming subscription service. White has been in the television and film industry for more than 20 years. The ON! Channel was founded in 2017 and is the fast-growing, ad-supported subscription streaming service featuring more than 400 hours of original content from award-winning content creators from all over the world including feature films, short films, series and documentaries, including audiobooks, podcasts, and talk shows. White’s role at ON! will be helping to grow the subscriber base, expanding the current ON! catalog and creating new partnerships and affiliate relationships. As an actor, he has been featured in a variety of well-known TV shows including “Ambitions”, “Moesha”, “Mistresses”, “Scandal”, “Ray Donovan”, and the series “Beauty and the Beast.” Some of his film roles include Stomp the Yard, Fighting and Good Deeds to name a few. Currently, he is producing and starring in the multi-Emmy Award-nominated “Bronx SIU”, Season 3. A Boston Native, White is a former NFL player, stockbroker and a graduate of Dartmouth College.
About Marques Houston:
Marques Houston was born on August 4, 1981 in Los Angeles, CA. He is an actor best known for You Got Served (2004) and the TV series “Sister, Sister” (1994). Houston began his journey into the behind the scenes world of film-making in 2010 partnering with longtime music manager Chris Stokes, who directed most of the films he wrote and produced. Marques is currently the CEO of the film production company Footage Films. Houston also serves as an Executive Producer and Writer in the Footage Films. Following in the paths of filmmakers John Waters’, John Singleton’s and Spike Lee’s casting tradition, Houston and Stokes often cast some of their actors more than once in different films portraying different roles. His first full writing and executive producer credit was the 2015 film Will To Love, starring Keisha Knight Pulliam, Draya Michele, and himself respectively. He has gone on to produce the TV movie thriller “Running Out of Time,” starring Tasha Smith, RonReaco Lee, Telma Hopkins that aired in December 2018 on BET. Since the start of this new career, he has written and produced over 10 films so far, including one he has co-written with Stokes that was released to theaters in 2017, titled, Til Death Do Us Part starring Taye Diggs, Stephen Bishop, Annie Ilonzeh and Malik Yoba. His most recent projects where he showcased his talents in front of and behind the camera were “Sacrifice” which is currently streaming on BET+ and “Howard High” which premieres May 1, 2020 on Urbanflix TV.
About Chrissy Stokes:
Chrissy Stokes was born on July 4, 1997 in Los Angeles, CA. She is an actress who got her start as Nicole in the 2012 TNT Drama Southland. She also appeared on screen with Marques Houston in Somebody Help Me 2 as ‘Tee Tee.’ She plays ‘Nicki Ross’ in the upcoming 2020 Urbanflix TV series “Howard High”.
Headshots of the leads and producer Chris Stokes:
Chris Stokes:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sp0mmdh9xdhwfv0/Stokes%20Final%20PR%20crop.jpg?dl=0
Brian White:
Attached…
Marques Houston
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t1bjuq1z6r0r2sp/Marques%20Houston%20Headshot.jpg?dl=0
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Howard High Release/Page 4
Dorien Wilson:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jpbwprk4k4myrzo/Dorien%20Wilson%20Headshot.jpg?dl=0
Chrissy Stokes:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wndx67psy0p5wcz/Chrissy%20Stokes%20Headshot.JPG?dl=0
Media Contact For Footage Films:
Shannon Barr
CEO/Owner
Strategic Public Relations
